Politics

Though previous Korean governments have taken steps to support Korea’s transition to an advanced innovation-driven economy, the Park administration has significantly heightened the level of priority of these efforts in…

Security and political issues over the Taiwan Strait and the Korean Peninsula remain as flashpoints in East Asia since WWII. The authors argue that economic interdependence, together with negotiations and…

Since the end of the Korean War, the United States has been the largest supplier of defense systems to the Republic of Korea (ROK). The imperative of maintaining military interoperability…

This PDF is the full publication and contains all of the following sections: KEI Board of Directors KEI Advisory Council Preface Bilateral Competition and Cooperation Under New Leadership Introduction by…

By Troy Stangarone On February 10, rumors that Kim Jong-un had been assassinated at the North Korean Embassy in Beijing began to rapidly spread across the internet. First making their way around Weibo and then jumping to Twitter, word of Kim Jong-un’s death eventually spread as far as the floor of the New York Stock…

By Chad 0Carroll Kim Jong-nam made headlines last week with reports suggesting he was not comfortable with the third generation succession to his brother, Kim Jong-un.  It wasn’t the first time Kim Jong-nam’s name made the news, with previous reports showing his desire for reform, his unhappiness with DPRK military first policy, and even his…

By Sarah K. Yun For the first time in Korean politics, two women are leading the ruling and opposition parties.  Two other women became the chairpersons for the most liberal party in Korea.  In January 2012, Korea was accepted to chair the United Nations Women, which promotes gender equality and empowerment of women.  Also recently,…

By Greg Scarlatoiu North Korea recently announced a special amnesty to prisoners, the first in over six years, to be issued beginning on February 1, in observance of Kim Jong-il’s birthday on February 16 and in anticipation of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il-sung. The announcement came only two days after the…